Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Protective Clothing

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2021 to Question 301 on Protective Clothing: Manufacturing Industries, what value of personal protective equipment (PPE) was procured from each of those companies; and what proportion each of those values comprise of the total amount of value of PPE procured by his Department from all sources since 1 October 2020.

Jo Churchill: All contracts, including those for UK Make, are publicly available on contracts finder. The precise values for individual contracts may be subject to revision and approved signed contract variation as the contract proceeds and to date, available data shows that the largest UK Make contract is less than 2% of the total of all contracts across the programme.The Department has contracted with over 30 manufacturers in the United Kingdom for around 3.9 billion items of personal protective equipment (PPE) and this represents approximately 12% of the total PPE ordered. The total percentage value of overall UK Make COVID-19 PPE contracts is 8.9%.

Travel: Coronavirus

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of British holidaymakers travelling abroad who will choose not to comply with covid-19 testing requirements on their return.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the risks to public health of British holidaymakers failing to comply with covid-19 testing requirements after travelling abroad; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: We are unable to provide the information requested as it relates to the ongoing formulation of Government policy. However, an important part of the Government’s aim to see a safe and sustainable return to international travel is ensuring the inbound rules are being adhered to, including individuals entering England from both amber-list and green-list countries and territories.We are working closely with the Home Office to ensure that our international travel regulations are robustly enforced. The Home Office has contracted Mitie (private security) to conduct door-step visits to those suspected of non-compliance. Any individuals suspected of non-compliance by Mitie officers are referred to the police for follow-up enforcement action, which can include issuing Fixed Penalty Notices.

Coronavirus: Screening

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the evidential basis was for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to conclude that the concerns raised by the US Food and Drug Administration on the NHS rebranded Innova lateral flow tests did not apply to the UK market.

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 21 to Question 21930 on Coronavirus: Screening, on what evidence the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency based its decision to extend the re-purposed Innova lateral flow tests until 28 August 2021.

Jo Churchill: NHS Test and Trace have taken on the role of legal manufacturer of the self-tests which have been given a Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Exceptional Use Authorisation (EUA) for the purpose of detection of COVID-19 in asymptomatic individuals as part of the national testing programme. As a legal manufacturer, NHS Test and Trace are required to have a Quality Management System (QMS) in place. The QMS is separate to that of Innova Medical Group in the United States of America (USA) and ensures that tests being used in the United Kingdom (UK) are subject to appropriate controls.On becoming aware of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety notice issued on 10 June, in line with our normal processes the MHRA immediately asked NHS Test and Trace to investigate whether the UK could be affected by any of the concerns raised by FDA. The MHRA considered the information supplied by NHS Test and Trace and were satisfied of the limited applicability of the FDA’s actions in the USA to the products supplied in the UK by NHS Test and Trace and their proposed actions to mitigate risks from these issues.The Department has recently published full information and data on the performance of lateral flow tests in the UK which demonstrates that the tests have a high level of accuracy and sensitivity, and can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lateral-flow-device-performance-dataThe MHRA has extended the EUA to Test and Trace until 28 August 2021. The duration of an EUA can differ for a number of reasons; in this instance a shorter extension was considered appropriate. This does not preclude the EUA from potential further extensions if requested. The relatively short extension allows us to keep the situation under review.

Travel: Quarantine

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of people who have contracted covid-19 in covid-19 quarantine hotels.

Jo Churchill: This information is not held centrally.